


The Beat That Makes You Move

by thatwriterlady



Series: 30 Day Writing Challenge 2015 [20]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: 30 day writing challenge, Alternate Universe - College/University, Cas likes music, Castiel Has a Crush on Dean Winchester, College Student Castiel, College Student Dean, Fluff, Implied Castiel/Dean Winchester, Inspired by Music, M/M, Shy Castiel, Turns out Dean has a crush on Castiel too, mention of past bullying
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-20
Updated: 2015-11-20
Packaged: 2018-05-03 02:50:23
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,081
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5273705
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thatwriterlady/pseuds/thatwriterlady
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Cas listens to music for a variety of reasons, but mostly because he just loves music.  It makes him feel, takes him someplace else, and lets him forgets his worries.  Sometimes, certain songs make his wander back to the beautiful man he sees sometimes on campus, with the bright green eyes and freckles....</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Beat That Makes You Move

**Author's Note:**

> Sorry for the lame summary. I forgot to eat today and my blood sugar is a little off, and I honestly can't think straight right now. 
> 
> For the record, I am eating right now. I had some dried strawberries and now I'm eating cheese and crackers while I wait for dinner to cook.
> 
> So basically I was challenged to put my music player on shuffle and write down the first three songs and how they made me feel. Well, I don't have a music player, but I do have Spotify, so I put my playlist on shuffle. I got the following songs:
> 
> Amaranthe: Amaranthine  
> Breaking Benjamin: Angels Fall  
> Highly Suspect: Lydia
> 
>  
> 
> I based Cas' playlist on my own. I have approximately 70 songs on my list, and it's a huge variety, everything from Breaking Benjamin to Owl City, to Ed Sheeran, to Sixx A.M to Ryan Dolan. I like variety. I do not, however like jazz, unlike Cas here, lol. I hope you like this fic. It's primarily based around Cas, but there is Destiel at the end.

**Song List:**

**Amaranthe: Amaranthine**  
Breaking Benjamins: Angels Fall  
Highly Suspect: Lydia 

Cas loved music. He listed to it in class, on the lowest possible setting since it helped him concentrate better. He listened to it as he did his homework. If his roommate was out for the afternoon, he listened to it like normal, but if he was home, he put in his headphones, turned it up, and drown out whatever background noise there was as he toiled away on whatever paper it was that he was writing. Sharing a dorm room wasn’t as much fun as he’d hoped, but it wasn’t all that bad either. He was almost to the finish line now. In May he would graduate with his teaching degree, and he couldn’t wait.

He listened to music when he was driving, to fill the empty space so that he didn’t feel quite so alone. In the car he would crank the music up and sing along, not caring that his voice cracked and was off key. There was no one there to tease him, and in those instances he felt more confident than ever. No one to judge his music tastes, to tease or insult him for what he liked to listen to. In truth, his tastes were rather eclectic but it always seemed that people only ever randomly showed up when he was listening to something soft, like Sam Smith or Ed Sheeran, not when he was listening to Seether or Three Days Grace. No, they just heard love songs and automatically stereotyped him as being like every other gay guy out there, and they asked why he wasn’t listening to show tunes instead. He resented those insinuations, and stereotypes in general. Cas just liked music. Period. Everything from jazz to death metal, from rap to country, and everything in between. Of course he had his favorites, because who didn’t? Those songs that made him soar as he listened to the words, or pulling feelings from him that reminded him of things he had forgotten, or that made him crave things he’d never had. Like real love.

Cas was almost twenty two and he was ashamed of the fact that he had never truly been in love. He’d had boyfriends, more than a few, and had a few somewhat serious relationships, but he’d never been in love. It didn’t help that starting in his second year he had spotted another student, a young man with dark blonde hair and freckles that spilled across his nose and down his cheeks. A man with the most vibrant green eyes framed by long, blonde lashes that made Cas feel things he hadn’t thought of in ages. He wanted to get to know the man that he kept catching glimpses of on campus, but he didn’t even know the man’s name, or if he liked guys like that. Once, shortly after the man had arrived he had seen him walking with a girl with hair the color of fire, but they had just been talking and laughing, so he wasn’t sure if it was his girlfriend or not. Later he’d heard a rumor that her name was Charlie, and she was a lesbian, so that answered that question. Junior year he had seen the man with the amazing green eyes walking hand in hand with a girl from Cas’ economics class. Lisa, he thought her name was. It was in the winter as the snow was falling, and though it saddened Cas, he couldn’t help but smile as he saw the way they looked at one another, and how picturesque they looked with the snow falling down around them as he leaned in to press a soft kiss to her lips. It made Cas’ heart ache, but he was happy for the man, and for Lisa. Everyone deserved happiness.

Cas had a playlist that he listened to constantly. Every time he would hear a new song that he liked, he would add it to his playlist, and so over the last year it had grown from around twelve songs to nearly seventy. He liked to put it on shuffle, lay back on his bed, and close his eyes as he listened. It didn’t matter what mood he was in or what he was thinking about, but if the song Amaranthine came on, his thoughts immediately turned to green eyes and freckles, and it made his heart ache all over again. He’d been on dates all through college, whenever he had found the time, but no one really attracted him like that man did. The song lyrics filled his ears as he kicked off his shoes and laid down. He was alone, his roommate not due back for another half an hour, but still he put in his headphones, content to listen to the words and drown out the rest of the world.

_Time_  
Is the reason why we fight to stay alive  
Until the morning comes 

_It's a strife_  
But the shimmer in your eyes just makes me know  
That you and I belong 

_And you can light the dark all by your own  
So let us show the world our love is strong_

_LIKE A SIGN_  
LIKE A DREAM  
YOU'RE MY AMARANTHINE  
YOU ARE ALL I NEEDED, BELIEVE ME  
LIKE WE DRIFT IN A STREAM  
YOUR BEAUTY SERENE  
THERE'S NOTHING ELSE  
IN LIFE I EVER NEED  
MY DREAM, AMARANTHINE 

_Time_  
Goes by as day and nights are turning into years  
But I'm lying in your arms  
It's the place  
Where I know that I am closest to your heart  
Where the dark is torn apart. 

_I know you feel the same as I inside  
It feels like in a dream where we can fly_

_LIKE A SIGN_  
LIKE A DREAM  
YOU'RE MY AMARANTHINE  
YOU ARE ALL I NEEDED, BELIEVE ME  
LIKE WE DRIFT IN A STREAM  
YOUR BEAUTY SERENE  
THERE'S NOTHING ELSE  
IN LIFE I EVER NEED  
MY DREAM, AMARANTHINE 

_It's a strife_  
But the shimmer in your eyes just makes me know  
You're my amaranthine 

_LIKE A SIGN_  
LIKE A DREAM  
YOU'RE MY AMARANTHINE  
YOU ARE ALL I NEEDED, BELIEVE ME 

_LIKE A SIGN_  
LIKE A DREAM  
YOU'RE MY AMARANTHINE  
YOU ARE ALL I NEEDED, BELIEVE ME  
LIKE WE DRIFT IN A STREAM  
YOUR BEAUTY SERENE  
THERE'S NOTHING ELSE  
IN LIFE I EVER NEED  
MY DREAM, AMARANTHINE 

It felt as though he were floating as the lyrics spilled out of the little speakers and into his ears, and he smiled softly, allowing himself the fantasy of imagining what it would be like to be held by the man he’d been daydreaming about for three years now. He was singing along softly, oblivious to everything else in the world, so he had missed the sound of the door opening and people walking in. When a shadow fell over his bed he started, his blue eyes flying open to find green ones looking back. He sat up, numb with shock. How did the object of his dreams get in his room?! And why was he standing over the bed looking at him with an amused smile.

“Oh, that’s my roommate, Cas. He likes his music, just ignore him.” Benny, Cas’ roommate said. Dean didn’t move away from the bed though, and he didn’t take his eyes off Cas.

“No, that’s rude. Hi, I’m Dean.” He held out his hand and Cas shook it, still moderately numb with shock.

“Hi.”

“I love that song, by the way. You listen to a lot of that kind of music?” Dean asked. Cas shrugged.

“I listen to almost anything, but that’s one of my favorites.” 

Dean nodded approvingly before looking over at Benny. “How come you never bring Cas around? Dude has good taste in music. It’s better than that bluegrass shit you listen to.”

Benny laughed and gave him the finger.

“It’s not bluegrass, you asshole, it’s Cajun folk music. And yeah, even I’ll admit Cas has decent taste in music, til he starts playing that show tune shit.” 

“I don’t listen to show tunes!” Cas exclaimed, feeling his temper starting to bristle. “Stop making fun of me!”

“I’m not. It’s just that some of the stuff you listens to is…” Benny shrugged, unsure how to word it without making his roommate even more upset.

“Not what you would normally listen to?” Dean suggested. Benny nodded.

“That doesn’t mean it’s bad music. And I happen to _like_ show tunes, so shut up.” Dean laughed.

“You do?” Cas asked, the words slipping out before he could stop himself.

Benny pulled a chair over and Dean sat down in it, turning towards Cas rather than his friend, not that Benny seemed to notice, he was busy grabbing his laptop as he sat back on his bed. Cas sat up, pulling the buds from his ears.

“I listen to everything, really, but show tunes are something I never really had much interest in. People just like to make assumptions.”

“Assumptions? What kind of assumptions could possibly be made about show tunes? Other than that you like Broadway plays.” Dean asked.

“He’s gay, Dean.” Benny clarified. Dean’s gaze was sharper now, one eyebrow arched. Apparently he hadn’t expected that answer. Cas watched him carefully. Either he’d be a douche like Benny sometimes could be, or he’d be cool about it.

“So because he’s gay, you automatically assume he listens to what you classify as ‘gay music’. Is that right?” Dean turned his gaze on Benny who looked up, his expression one of guilt.

“Yeah, that’s insulting, dude.” Dean shook his head, an irritated look on his face. He turned back to Cas and motioned towards his phone. “What else you got on there?” 

Cas pulled up his Spotify playlist and held the phone out. Dean took it and read through it. 

“This is an awesome playlist. I like most of these. A few of these I don’t think I’ve heard of, but everything else on here is pretty good. What is Benny saying sounds like show tunes? Nothing on here is even close.” Dean asked.

“He makes fun of me for listening to Sam Smith and Ed Sheeran.” Cas said.

“Sorry, I just really don’t get those love songs.” Benny shrugged.

“Sam Smith sings more about heart break and heart ache than love.” Cas clarified.

“I have identified with a few of his songs.” Dean murmured as he looked through the list of songs again. “This one is really good.” He pointed at Fallen Angels by Breaking Benjamins. “Can we put this one on? I know even Benny likes this one.” 

Cas nodded and reached over to unplug his headphones. Dean hit play and the song began to play. “Why do you like this one?” He asked.

“I was named after an angel. I thought the song was cool, and I like the chorus.” Cas replied. Dean smiled. He was so much more beautiful this close up. It was hard not to stare.

“I like the message it sends. That even when everything is over, and nothing is left, you find the strength to keep going. God knows that has described my entire college career.” Dean laughed. “Every time I felt like giving up, I reached deep down inside of myself and found the strength to keep going.” 

Cas nodded rather enthusiastically. “I totally get what you’re saying! And it’s been like that for me too. More than once I wanted to just throw the towel in and give up. But I’m almost done now. I can’t wait.”

“What are you getting your degree in? I started off in engineering but changed my major to education. I have one more year left.” Dean sighed.

“Double major in English and Education, with a minor in History. I plan to teach middle school social studies and English.” Cas replied.

“No wonder you’re worn out! A double major? Dude, that would stress out anyone!” 

Cas chuckled and scooted back so he could lean against the headboard. He fluffed up his pillows and crossed his ankles. Belatedly he realized Dean still had his phone. 

“What song is this one? I’m not sure I know this one.” He hit play and the smooth sound of Highly Suspect began to fill the room. Dean tilted his head as he listened, eyes widening as he realized what the lyrics actually were. 

“Sounds nice, right? Til you actually listen to the lyrics.” Cas chuckled.

“Dude, this is morbid!”

Cas shook his head. “No, clear your mind and restart the song. Really listen. He’s singing about his past and leaving it behind. It’s a song with multiple meanings. Music is interpretation, right?” 

“Well, yeah…” 

“Ok, so I was bullied, a lot as a kid. It got worse when it got out that I was gay. The boy I had a crush on was the cruelest of all. He was a football player and I belatedly discovered that he was so deep in the closet that he went out of his way to display how hetero he wanted everyone to believe he was. It resulted in my being tormented in front of the entire football team when I was beaten and left naked on the field. I left all of that behind though when I came here and when I listen to this song I think about how I burned those ties, left it all behind, and started over. Sometimes I still think about it, but…I am no longer bitter. I’m in a good place now.” Cas squirmed a little under Dean’s gaze, but Dean seemed cool with him being gay. He couldn’t help but wish Dean was interested, but his mind kept going back to Lisa. He’d kissed her, looked into her eyes like she was the only person in the world. Cas didn’t stand a chance.

“People can be assholes. Had anyone tried that shit with me in high school I’d have kicked their asses.” Dean said.

“Well, be glad you’re not gay and were outed against your will.” Cas told him.

“Why do you assume I’m not?” Dean asked. Both Cas and Benny looked up at him.

“Brother, you’re not gay…are you?” Benny asked.

“I’m pansexual, so no, not gay, but if anyone would have tried to hurt me, I’d have beaten their asses.” Dean told him.

“I’m not exactly built to kick ass.” Cas motioned at himself. “And the guys that beat me up all outweighed me by like a hundred pounds each at the time. It’s a miracle they didn’t kill me. Their coach caught them and that year the entire football team was expelled, save for like five guys that refused to participate. They were the ones that ran to get the coach in the first place. He showed up with the police, saved my life.”

“I dunno, you look pretty tough to me.” Dean smirked. Cas smiled and rolled his eyes.

“Yeah, well, I just keep to myself and try to keep my head above water.” 

“What’s the fun in that? Maybe that’s why I’ve only seen you around campus and haven’t gotten to actually meet you. You don’t hang out with Benny or anyone else I know.” Dean said. Cas’ eyes widened. Dean…had noticed him?

“I have a few friends.” He said lamely.

“No one you really know.” Benny added. Cas shot him an annoyed look but Benny was busy typing away on the laptop and didn’t notice.

“You know, you’re really rude to Cas.” 

Cas could hear the irritation in Dean’s voice. When they were alone, Benny was usually pretty cool, but when he had friends over he tended to suddenly become overly straight and rather insulting. He hated that about the guy. Benny looked up, noting the look on his friend’s face. He looked apologetically at Cas.

“Sorry, I don’t mean to be a dick.” 

Cas nodded, accepting the apology.

“You know what? I don’t think I want to watch that movie you were talking about.” Dean looked at Cas for a moment. “Are you busy right now?”

Cas’ eyes widened. “Um, not really, I finished my homework. I was just listening to music.”

“Do you want to join me for dinner? Just you and me.” Dean looked pointedly at Benny who was gaping at him.

“Oh, um…ok?” Cas swung his legs over the bed but didn’t stand up yet. “You’re sure? You don’t even know me.”

Dean smiled at him and it woke up the butterflies that had been dormant in his belly. Cas blushed.

“Are you seriously asking my roommate out? On a _date_?” Benny cried. Dean looked at him for a moment before turning back to Cas.

“Yes, I am, if he’s ok with that. I’ve seen him around campus and wanted to ask him out for a while now, but I didn’t know his name or what dorm he lived in. I was more than a little surprised to see that he’s your roommate. I could have asked him out three years ago if I’d known that little fact, but you never brought him around. Unless you’re seeing someone, in which case I am sooooo sorry.” Dean chewed nervously on his lower lip. Cas just smiled.

“No, not dating anyone, and I’d love to go on a date with you. I saw you around campus too, but you were dating that girl Lisa, so I gave up thinking I had a chance.” 

“Lisa? Oh, crap, I dated her like two months before she dumped me for this guy Rich. He got her pregnant too.” Dean laughed. He stood up and held out a hand. “So, dinner?”

Cas smiled wider, taking Dean’s hand and letting him be pulled to his feet. He put his shoes on as Benny complained.

“You suck, Dean. We were supposed to kick back and watch movies tonight.” Benny complained.

“We’ll watch them another night. And maybe this time Cas would like to join us. Over at my place. I have an actual television.” Dean said. Benny seemed momentarily placated by that.

“Fine. I’ll see what Andrea’s doing tonight. You guys have fun. I’ll catch you in class tomorrow, Dean.” Benny said. Dean nodded and waited for Cas to put his coat on before opening the door.

“So, any preferences for where you want to eat?” Dean asked him. 

“I like burgers.” Cas said. Dean grinned.

“Dude, you just get cooler by the minute.”

Cas thought maybe this could end up going somewhere really, really good.

**Author's Note:**

> So I hope you liked this one. Leave me a comment and a kudos. Thanks for reading!


End file.
